Colorectal Cancer is Blind to Your Gender

In the case of several cancers, gender plays a pivotal role in determining just how much at risk a person may be. Some are extremely gender-biased, such as breast cancer in women or prostate cancer in men. However, for cancer of the colon and rectum, statistics say your gender matters very little.

According to the American Cancer Society, estimates for 2010 are that:

• 72,090 men were diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer• 70,480 women were diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer• Just under 1,800 more deaths will occur in men than women from colorectal cancer

Colon and rectal cancer accounts for 9 percent of all deaths due to cancer for both men and women, and the difference in total diagnoses percentage for colorectal cancer in men and women is also negligible.